President Muhammadu Buhari has launched the country’s digital currency, eNaira.
President Buhari said during the launch that the adoption of new CBN digital currency is designed to increase Nigeria’s GDP by $29 billion.
During the event, President Buhari stated that the adoption of new CBN digital currency is estimated to increase Nigeria’s GDP by $29 billion over the next 10 years.
The event which took place today at the State House in Abuja, with the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and other dignitaries in attendance.
According to him, Nigeria is the first country in Africa and one of the first in the world to introduce a digital currency to the citizens.
Other countries like China, Bahamas, and Cambodia have also launched digital currencies.
The digital currency has two applications – eNaira speed wallet and eNaira merchant wallet, which were launched on the Google Playstore and Apple Store on Monday at the State House, Abuja.
A statement on the eNaira website explained the overall function of the currency and its value to Nigeria’s economy.
“eNaira is a Central Bank of Nigeria-issued digital currency that provides a unique form of money denominated in Naira.
“eNaira serves as both a medium of exchange and a store of value, offering better payment prospects in retail transactions when compared to cash payments,” the statement read in part.
Additionally, the new payment system which has taken four years to crystallise, will drive financial inclusion, serve as a backbone for electronic payment in Nigeria and also enable the movement of more people from the informal to the formal sector, hence scaling up the tax base of the country.
Meanwhile, a fintech expert, Ayowande Adaelemo has described the Nigerian Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), known as the eNaira, as a game-changer that will open a new world of innovations.
The founder of a fintech company called Atmosphere said this on Monday during a monitored television program maintaining that people in rural areas, especially at the bottom of the pyramid, will benefit more from the use of the digital currency.
“The most significant thing that would happen is that these people (in rural areas) will begin to see a huge difference between money in the bank and money in the hand but that is data. What this will do is that it will open a whole new world of innovation and I am hoping that mobile money operators and mobile network operators will latch onto this and roll out innovative services to rural areas,” he explained, hours before the planned launch of the digital currency by the CBN.
“You can pay money peer-to-peer, not necessarily with the use of cash; that is the game-changer. With eNaira, (as long as I have NFC, wifi, BlueTooth) I just point my phone to your phone and the transfer is done. A lot of stores in the rural areas will begin to latch onto this once they see the speed and the fact that there is no cost on transactions.”
Adalemo also hailed the move by the Federal government noting that eNaira is a win-win for all.
“It is powered by blockchain and this technology confers on it some levels of security even if your phone is stolen,” he added.
Despite the laudable benefits which the new digital currency will bring to Nigerians, calls for more enlightenment about the eNaira have also been drummed up.
According to the National Coordinator, Nigeria Alliance for Affordable Internet, Teniola Olushola, Nigeria’s apex bank needs to do more to enlighten Nigerians about how to use the eNaira and its benefits.
“CBN is right to call it a journey. It has some underlined assumptions. The CBN still needs to do a lot of awareness,” he said during the show.
